I spend probably 85% of my time working in collaboration with designers and artists, creating custom made glass. And I always enjoy meeting new prospective clients.
But it’s a real treat when I make some time to develop my own line of #lightingdesign & #artglass .
For more regular updates please follow me on social media: IG & FB: @JasonStropko
project brochure on Issue, a digital magazine platform
(please forgive any adverts that might be opening up before the brochure – you can click = skip)
• November starts off great! (Finally a great start to a month!) •
On view 3 days a week, only in November.
Please come by and enjoy some craft and company.
Pop-Up Gallery, 2162 Union St. , San Francisco, CA 94123
Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Uxxzv8DzqFDJ13XK9
Fri, Sat & Sun, 11am – 6pm
Check in with us ahead of time if you would like to chat with any of us in person.
Glass: www.JasonStropko.com
@JasonStropko
Ceramics: www.erinhuppceramics.com
@ErinHuppCeramics
Painting: www.jaimelovejoy.com
@JaimeLovejoyart
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• November starts off great! •
Erin and Jason join creative forces to share with you a collaboration inspired by a mutual appreciation for the culinary arts in marriage with high craftsmanship!
This collaboration began when Erin, on a search for a skilled glassmaker, discovered the one-of-a-kind art glass beetroot cloches that Jason recently created for Atelier Crenn, a 3 Star Michelin Restaurant in the heart of San Francisco.
During our first meeting Erin and Jason shared project concepts and work samples with one another and; on seeing a particularly nice glaze on one of Erin’s pieces; simultaneously had the idea to create glass caviar to harmonize with / accompany Erin’s glazed Caviar serving dishes.
With mutual enthusiasm it was agreed that this collaboration must go ahead.
Please tag me if you visit & make a post about it:
#JasonStropko
#JasonStropkoGlass
#thesoulofglass
Hi, it’s been a while since Birgit & I last made blog updates. It’s been far too quiet around here. Let’s change that.
Did you know that I make ‘Alice in Wonderland’ nuts and seeds out of hot blown and sculpted glass?
I am holding an Italian roasting chestnut baby in the picture below…
Jason’s chestnuts are already a complete product, available and made to custom order. But I would absolutely love to make the spiky outer husk out of glass as well. What do you think? Should I try it?
I make solid clear glass acorns like the ones below. But I also have a line of giant blown glass acorns. The difference is scale and that the smaller ones are solid and the giant acorns are hollow. The shapes are the same and can also be customised depending on your preference.
(By the way, if I don’t have an acorn waiting for you on the shelf then everything is available for custom order, turnover time can be around 2 weeks, but let me know if you are in a pickle and need an acorn to deliver to a squirrel with a tighter deadline, I will do what I can!)
If all roads lead to Rome, then all great adventures begin in London. And that is exactly where this journey starts.
These tree drawings began during my first grey and cold winter in London England in 2009. I went to visit Birgit in the UK, just six months after we met in Venice Italy, to give this international romance a try. Being the young that artist she was at the time, Birgit was living as a “guardian” without tenancy rights, meaning she was not permitted have unattended guests in her apartment. (But the benefit was that her rent was incredibly low.) Long story short: I couldn’t stay at her place during the day while she was away studying on her postgraduate program at Goldsmiths University.
When she left the flat in the morning I, too, set out but not to the comfort of a heated space. I packed my bag with a thermos of hot tea, some flapjacks (let me know in comments if you would like the recipe), a folding stool, my drawing supplies and many layers of clothes. It was a rare winter in which it snowed in London and the snow actually stuck. For the first time in about 10 years it snowed so much that the city just about came to a standstill because the British don’t know what to do if it really snows. You might think England would get more snow being so far north but the warm, salty ocean currents bring warm and salty air to the country, creating a climate with little snow fall. Being from Ohio the snow didn’t bother me and I spent many long days drawing in some of London’s parks. The following images are of trees drawn in the parks & outdoors in London.
I already had some sense of the city having visited Birgit in London months earlier in August, shortly after we first met in Venice in Italy. What struck me was the abundance of parks and green spaces in this vast world city. I formed my regular routines, as one does, and slowly became friends with the cold and a companion to the trees I was drawing.
There is something very special about drawing in nature, even in the cold of winter. Staying in the same spot for an extended period of time had an effect on me and the way I was seeing the landscape, the trees and their textured details. Much to my relief I also took photographs to draw from in the warmth of the apartment when Birgit was at home.
Here are a few drawings made from my photographs in the comfort of a warm space. This is when I started to experiment more with different perspectives and would go for evening walks to photograph in the more dramatic, contrastive lighting provided by the street lamps.
Looking back I can’t believe I stayed outside for as long as I did in the dead of winter! I think I earned my fish and chips at the time.
My takeaway from this experience is this: There is not always a right time or a good time to start something. All that matters is that you start and sometimes we all need that little push to get us going. Birgit’s rental situation certainly provided a push.
Is there something you are procrastinating with? What was it that gave you that little momentum to get an action or project rolling? I’d love to hear how you overcame those hurdles in the comments below.
– Jason
For purchase inquiries, please write to me via my website contact form, or send a DM on Instagram & Facebook.
Melanie and I met in person to discuss her designs, dimensions and color questions. After explaining my glass making process and color applications, Melanie set off to the glass color shop to look at sample colors. Our next meeting was in the hot glass studio, my office, where I would shape Melanies designs into life.
I have had the good fortune of working with studios in California, Ohio, England and Italy, often filling the role of head maker or head gaffer. As head gaffer my job is to make the studios designs, ideas and product line to specific dimensions and color requirements, often with a team of assistants. This can be a very demanding role and requires in-depth knowledge of each aspect of the glass making process from start to finish. Throughout the years and thousands of hours in such possitions I have honed my skills and abilities to be able to make work for designers like Melanie.
When looking at Melanie’s Marais Vases it is important to understand and appreciate the level of craftsmanship that went into each piece. Each piece embodies the culmination of Melanie’s experience wood turning, her growing designs and my 16+ years of experience making glass and my ability to listen and understand what Melanie is trying to convey and achieve. The Marais Vases are a brilliant example of what can happen when experienced makers come together to create something beyond their own capabilities.
Just a super quick note to say that we just noticed that it isn’t immediately clear that Jason’s Date Night Glassblowing classes cost $345 and that the price is for 2 participants!
We just checked the Glassblowing Class tab on Jason’s website and it leads (as it should) to a booking calendar however doesn’t show until 2 clicks later that the price is $345 (which incidentally is a great value price, you will understand it when you arrive at the studio!) and then the booking form makes it appear like the price is for only 1 participant. While in fact $345 covers 2 participant for a glassblowing class with the one and only, amazing glassblowing instructor: Jason Stropko!
Below are pictures of Jason’s glassblowing classes, some students in the studio and some student work as well as some of Jason’s wonderful work!
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JASON STROPKO WEBSITE HOME PAGE
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Keep in touch during 2016 and be the first to see the development of another new project by Jason Stropko. These vessels are already available to order, dimensions variable and subject to client choice!
The lowest of these vessels in this image is approximately 20cm high, and makes a stunning display for precious objects, truffles, fruit and bakeware.. As always your imagination is the limit!
sizes can be completely modified to suit your display area. Prices: vary depending on size, number of pieces and technical difficulty! The pieces that you see here range from $400 – $750 each, depending on colour work, size and your timeframe. Individual pieces in a rush order can be delivered as soon as 72 hours from the time of order. Please use the contact form tab above for enquiries.
We agree, it feels like it is just a little bit too soon to say those words, but knowing how time can fly and how making glass to meet orders can take a little time we decided to join the and shops that already play Christmas Music, except we aren’t playing the music (just yet), we will wait until December before we do that!
Just playing around making a large clear glass bauble, thinking about larger than life christmas ornaments made in glass! These will only be made by special order and cost from around $95 for a clear/transparent colour and around $125 for an optic mould blown one.. Orders should ideally be received during the month of November. It will be possible to make some in December, too. But the sooner you dream up your christmas ornaments colour choices and designs the sooner they can be in production!
But here an early offering of: place your order early and be guaranteed a timely delivery (in good time to send gifts as ornaments to friends around the world even!)
Jason Stropko Glass 